April 21, 2022 | Feature
DANGERS OF INTERNET MISINFORMATION BY AYSHE ALI
A
Assistant to the Advisor
dvancements in technology have made it easier than ever to know what is going on in the world. People have stepped away from traditional news sources and have started relying on social media to receive their news. Instead of reading through a newspaper or watching the local nightly newscast, you have the ability to quickly learn about what’s happening in the world around you from scrolling through social media platforms like Twitter or TikTok. According to a Pew Research Service study from January, more than 86 percent of adults said they get their news from a smartphone. While this sounds convenient and ideal, many people don’t realize that the information they are consuming may be incorrect. A major factor in what causes misinformation in the media is a reliance on shock value. Tabloids and news outlets race to release a news story first. No matter the outcome, each company’s goal is to get the most traffic on their sites. Media outlets tend to throw out buzzwords and clickbait headlines to accomplish this goal and to grab the attention of different audiences and readers. “The platforms profit from it because
that news is trustworthy, but it has be- don’t realize is that there isn’t a shortcome increasingly important for people age of examples proving just how much to get into the habit of fact-checking the false information is out there relating to media they are consuming. Just because the war between Russia and Ukraine. For something is published doesn’t mean example, a viral video that surfaced on that it can’t be riddled with false X information. The current conflict between Russia and Ukraine has proven just how According to a Pew Research Service dangerous and easy to believe study from January, more than 86 permisleading infor- cent of adults said they get their news mation can be. from a smartphone. Most teenagers and adults are familiar by now with TikTok. This CLICK HERE video-sharing app has ended up in the middle of a broader discussion about misinformation, specifical- Facebook of a Ukrainian aircraft shooting ly with the conflict happening between a Russian aircraft down is actually from Ukraine and Russia. TikTok works as an a video game, according to USA Today algorithm, letting the user view the con- writer Kate Petersen. People are seemingtent that interests them the most. Re- ly willing to post whatever it takes to get a cently, however, many users’ “For You” reaction from others. pages have been “Without actual pictures from the flooded with content conflict, people turn to online repositoX relating to Russia’s ries for imagery for memes and posts. decision to invade They find old images, misinterpret them their neighbor. Stay- as being from the current war, and inIn a 2018 study done by MIT Sloan pro- ing informed about clude them with their posts to try to bolfessors Sinan Aral and Deb Roy and So- current issues is im- ster their arguments,” said Dr. Vikram Mitportant, however a tal, an associate professor at the United roush Vosoughi of the MIT Media Lab, recent study done by States Military Academy in the Departthey found that news containing false Safeguard, a compa- ment of Systems Engineering. ny that monitors the In a 2018 study done by MIT Sloan information is 70 percent more likely trustworthiness of professors Sinan Aral and Deb Roy and to be retweeted than stories contain- news outlets, proved Soroush Vosoughi of the MIT Media Lab, just how much false they found that news containing false ining true facts. information is float- formation is 70 percent more likely to be ing around on the retweeted than stories containing true app. facts. It is increasingly more difficult to CLICK HERE “Toward the end figure out if something you are reading of the 45–minute ex- is true or not. Instead of reading newsperiment, analysts’ papers or watching the local news, peothe more outrageous the content, the feeds were almost exclusively populated ple are starting to solely rely on social more people interact with it – this type of with both accurate and false content re- media to get their information. The issue ‘engagement’ is what the platforms are lated to the war in Ukraine – with no dis- to remain consistently aware of is that we looking for; people reacting to things. It tinction made between disinformation have to be more devoted to fact checking doesn’t matter if it’s true or false as long and reliable sources,” the research team our news sources, particularly when they as they engage,” telecommunications at Safeguard found. come from social media. analyst of Recon Analytics Roger Entner This misinformation is not only mis“Social media offers us the illusion of said. leading, but it can also contribute to un- news literacy, but what it really delivers is It is very easy for someone to read necessary panic. People from both sides a fog of feel-good-half-truths, a half-shutan article or scroll through social media of the war have been posting videos and tered window on the world,” according to content and blindly believe what they images with the sole purpose of striking Penn State University professor in ethics see. We have long been inclined to think fear in each other. What many people Dr. Patrick L. Plaisance.
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